time, instead of rearing, the frightened beast dashed forward in a wild
effort to escape, but the mounted men, closing up, headed him into the
middle of the ring again, and he went back to his first tactics with a
rapidity that was too much for the handsome lad on his back, and in a
few moments he was thrown heavily. With a shrill scream the colt turned
on him open-mouthed, and Yusef flung up one arm to save his face. But
the men reached him in time, dragging the colt from him by main force.
He rose to his feet unsteadily and limped to the tents behind. Diana
could not see him easily for the throng around him.

Again she looked at the Sheik and ground her teeth. He was stooping to
light a cigarette from a match that Gaston was holding, and then they
walked together nearer to the colt. The animal was now thoroughly
maddened, and it was increasingly difficult to hold him. They went up
close to the struggling, yelling grooms, and the next minute Diana saw
Gaston sitting firmly in the empty saddle. The little man rode
magnificently, and put up a longer fight than the others had done, but
at last his turn came, and he went flying over the colt's head. He came
down lightly on his hands and knees, and scrambled to his feet in an
instant amidst a storm of shouts and laughter. Laughing himself he came
back to the Sheik with a shrug of the shoulders and outspread, eloquent
hands. They spoke together for a moment, too low for Diana to hear, and
then Ahmed Ben Hassan went again into the middle of the ring. Diana's
breath came more quickly. She guessed his intention before he reached
the colt, and she moved forward from under the awning and joined
Gaston, who was wrapping his handkerchief round a torn hand.

"Monseigneur will try?" she asked a little breathlessly.

Gaston looked at her quickly. "Try, Madame?" he repeated in a queer